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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

This is a Quilt: My SAQA Donation

This is a new piece from my Songbird Series which was made for the SAQA exhibit, This is a Quilt. I have been experimenting with using paper in my small quilts for some time, and had an epiphany this morning as I was folding a paper crane from music manuscript. The graphic effect of the manuscript paper punctuated with the notes, staff and script in the book is beautiful. Since my piano playing days are long behind me (even after years of lessons, I still find it very hard to learn new music), I have plenty of papers for my artwork. It was actually my husband who said, "You should use this..." and six hours later, voila!

The paper has been altered with inks, cut into squares, and sewn to Peltex 70. The bird and nest are then applied to the background with thread.

Quilt Title:Songbird #1:Robin

Statement:It is no secret that I am inspired by the world around me.The colors of the October sky, shadows from the barren trees in winter, and the sweet music of flocks of songbirds all inspire me in so many ways.The truth is, I believe that the “medium” I use to express my self artistically doesn’t really matter.When I was very young, I chose music.As I grew into early adulthood, I wrote poetry.Four semesters of pottery class certainly helped boost my GPA in college.But the result has always been the same.My artwork reflects what is important in my life and the beauty I see and feel all around me.I am now middle-aged and I choose to make art quilts.So why is this a quilt?It has three layers, stitched together, and uses fiber (paper and fabric) as its medium.